CWOF

A Continuance Without a Finding or “CWOF” is a way to resolve a criminal charge without a conviction or guilty finding. To get a CWOF, the defendant must admit that there are sufficient facts to support a conviction. If the Judge accepts the admission to sufficient facts, he will place the defendant on probation and continue the case without a guilty finding for a pre-determined timeframe, such as 6 months or a year.

If the defendant abides by the conditions of probation, the charges will be dismissed once the defendant completes the probation term. If the defendant violates probation condition, the CWOF can be revoked and the defendant can be found guilty. G.L. c. 278 § 18 describes the process.

If a DUI charge is CWOF’ed, the defendant will be assigned to an alcohol education program and it will count the same as a conviction for license suspension and ignition interlock purposes. A DUI charge that is continued without a finding will generate an insurance surcharge under the Massachusetts Safe Driver Insurance Plan. Some serious charges such as Motor Vehicle Homicide cannot be CWOF’ed.

Pursuant to G.L. c. 90 § 24D, only first offense and “second chance first offense” DUI charges can be CWOF’ed. Second and subsequent offense DUI charges cannot be CWOF’ed.

A CWOF counts just like a conviction for Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) eligibility purposes. A CWOF is not a conviction for firearms licensing purposes.